About

Hi there! We're the Schrader family. We are the local flower farmers at Graceful Acres Flower Farm, located just east of unique Monticello. We cultivate beautiful, farm-fresh flowers and specialize in flower classes & experiences.

Our Story

For as long as we both can remember, we have always deeply loved being outside and cultivating all things green.

Very early on, Rachel was mesmerized by both her grandma's gardens. One of her grandmas even had a room dedicated entirely to drying and arranging flowers! Rachel learned many lessons the hard way (like how not to plant carrots in untilled dirt!), but she also learned firsthand the magic of watching a seed become a bloom. She has a hard time choosing whether she enjoys the actual growing or the arranging of the flowers more. Her background in public education has given her a lifelong love of teaching, and she immensely enjoys sharing her passion with others.

Preston's self proclaimed "green thumb" is most likely a result of his rural upbringing and the massive vegetable garden his family tended. He graduated from the College of ACES at the University of Illinois with an advanced degree in Crop Science. This makes him our farm's official "bug expert" among many other important tasks. If there is any hint of light left in the sky, Preston can be found outside, tending something.

One of the first things we did once married, at our very first rental house, was to plant a garden! Since then, our summer gardens have grown exponentially each year. In 2015, we fell in love with the city of Monticello, and we were thrilled to find this historic farm property. This property has served many purposes to the community in its past, and we are thrilled to be using it now to bring the beauty, joy, and peace of locally grown flowers to Monticello and surrounding communities.

A few of our favorite things are:

-our three girls

-growing and arranging flowers (of course!)

-gator rides with the family

-sourdough bread and homemade sweets

-sweet corn fresh out of the field

-miniature cows